Britt Mulling Public Service

Wayne Britt swears he’s not a glutton for punishment. It just looks that way.

After catching chickens and driving chicken trucks for extra cash when he was a teenager, the Nashville, Ark, native swore he would never end up in the poultry industry. Then he spent 28 years with Tyson Foods Inc., the world’s largest poultry company, eventually serving as CEO from October 1998 to April 2000.

Britt admits part of the reason he retired early from the Springdale firm is because he took company issues “too personally,” leaving himself stressed and frustrated. Now he wants to run for public office, an arena where thin skin can lead to ulcers.

Britt, 51, is considering seeking the seat held by state Sen. David Malone, D-Fayetteville, this fall when the incumbent is ousted by term limits. Raised by “yellow dog Democrat” parents, Britt said he has not yet chosen a political party but he’s encouraged by the support he’s gotten. He describes himself as “financially conservative” and “socially moderate.”

“I am pro business, but not to the extent of destroying the environment,” Britt said. “I have been told that I’m too blunt and opinionated to be in politics. But I’ve also had quite a few people tell me that’s exactly what politics needs.

“I am serious about this. I want to see how the [state legislative] districts are redrawn this summer. I want to talk to a lot of people and determine if public office is the right thing for me. My gut feeling is that it is.”

It has been an emotional year for Britt.

Soon after he retired, Britt was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease. An affliction of the inner ear, Meniere’s is characterized by episodic vertigo attacks or extreme motion sickness and pressure in the ear. Britt said he spent a reclusive summer, battling the disruptive disease and angst over leaving a company he still loves.

But by fall, an effective medication regimen helped Britt regain his health and happiness. Along the way, he also got reacquainted with his family and golf game, had a spiritual awakening and found a new career challenge. Now seemingly at peace with his past and present, Britt said he’s ready to focus on the rest of his life.

Old World, New Start

Andy Marshall, chief operating officer of Spectral Fusion Technologies in Birmingham, England, made an off-hand comment during a board meeting last summer. The start-up firm, which makes advanced X-ray inspection equipment primarily for the poultry and fish sectors, was looking for a chairman. Knowing that Britt had recently retired, Marshall jokingly suggested that they “just phone up Wayne Britt to take the job.”

Marshall said there was a pause in the room before everyone started nodding. Then Marshall said, “Bloody, well why not!”

He contacted Wayne through Wayne’s brother, Paul Britt, Tyson’s complex manager in Nashville. Wayne Britt said he was taken back at first, but he couldn’t resist hopping a plane to see Spectral’s technology firsthand. It didn’t take long for him to be convinced the business was worth his time. By October, Britt signed on as chairman.

“I took this because it was a challenge to me,” Britt said. “I wanted to see how I could relate and perform coming from a $7.4 billion company with 68,000 employees to a new firm with 20 employees. I also believe in what Andy and [Spectral CEO] Mark Graves are doing. They’re improving food safety, which I believe in strongly.”

Marshall, who would not divulge the private firm’s financials, said the partnership has been mutually beneficial. Spectral’s primary target is the U.S. poultry industry where Britt can still open doors. The chairman only has to visit England one week per month, and helping Spectral expand its list of six U.S. clients has renewed his enthusiasm.

“As CEO of Tyson, it’s not that the decisions I dealt with weren’t important,” Britt said, “but by the time they’d gotten to me, many other people had already sifted through them and managed the issue. That’s because Tyson is a large, mature company.

“At a start-up company like Spectral, every decision is not important — it’s critical. The time frame is really compressed, and the mentoring and business plan development I am doing has been very fulfilling.”

Life After Tyson

During Britt’s 18 months as CEO, Tyson recorded a record $230 million profit for 1999. He and John Tyson, now the company’s chairman, president and CEO, had implemented a strategic plan to give their front-line employees more accountability and authority. Analysts bought into the rhetoric, and the firm gained momentum.

Then suddenly on April 12, Britt announced his early retirement. Local speculation was that he was forced out. John Tyson said publicly that that was not the case. Britt said regardless of what people want to called it, the truth is he just needed a change.

“I was tired,” Britt said. “I am not a control freak, but my personality is that I like to be able to fix something when it’s not working. I experienced frustration and stress because I couldn’t fix everything. I cared about the company so much, I took all of the issues Tyson Foods had personally.”

Britt said he worked closely with John Tyson to reshape the firm’s future. During the restructuring, Britt said he realized it was time for John — son of senior chairman Don Tyson and grandson of company founder John Tyson Sr. — to “realize his family legacy and manage Tyson Foods himself.”

“John has worked very hard to demonstrate his ability to fulfill that legacy,” Britt said. “He wants very much to do it and he’s ready. I have good feelings about John and the company. I know the folks there are good people because I hired many of them.”

Britt said although he left amicably, there are still mornings when he misses the action at the Tyson campus in Johnson. Richard Nixon was president in 1972 when then-CFO John McGwire recruited Britt to work in Tyson’s accounting office.

Britt is still receiving $1 million over seven years to serve as a company consultant. He also still has Tyson stock options and health benefits. But instead of living by little lists of tasks that he compiled as CEO, Britt said he now enjoys taking life as it comes.

“I’m happier now than I was because I’m closer to my wife, Kathy, and my family,” Britt said. “After 19 years of marriage, we feel like we’re 20 years old again. I’ve learned not to take everything personally. I’ve learned what’s important.”

Political Aspirations

If Britt does run for office and is elected, he will not abandon Spectral. He will continue serving in his part-time role at least until the company reaches its next phase. Britt said when Spectral reaches the need for more industrial applications, the company might seek someone more familiar with that business.

He said “big things” could be happening for Spectral by the end of the year. A number of Britt’s friends and mentors from over the years believe “big things” could be happening for him by then, too.

Fred Vorsanger, manager of the University of Arkansas’ Walton Arena and the former mayor of Fayetteville (1990-92), is a longtime friend of Britt’s. Vorsanger has served on Tyson’s board since 1977, and he said Britt’s character would make him successful in any arena.

“I’ve seen Wayne as a young man rise from an accountant to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company,” Vorsanger said. “In my opinion, he’s one of the brightest people I’ve ever known. He’s not flashy or arrogant. He’s just a solid man.”

Britt said he grew up in a “poor but hardworking southern Arkansas family.” He remembers accompanying his father, Van Britt, to pay off one week’s groceries and charge the next. With four boys to feed, Britt said, he’s proud of the job his parents did.

“My daddy did everything legal to make a dollar,” Britt said. “My family scratched a living out of the ground, and that made an impression on me.”

Using student loans and grants, Britt breezed through his bachelor’s degree in 3 1/2 years. He went into accounting, Britt said, because he thought it would keep him out of poultry. Jim Modisette, retired accounting department head at the University of Arkansas, had Britt in several classes and said he was not surprised he advanced quickly at Tyson.

“Wayne was a good old south Arkansas boy who was taught to work for what he wanted in life,” Modisette said. “He was an outstanding student and boy at the university. I went back and looked at my files when he became CEO, and, as I remembered, he did very well.”

Britt said Modisette challenged him to succeed. While in college, Britt interned at Fayetteville’s Douglas Walker & Co. with Jim Sandlin, now a partner with Sandlin, Parham & Anderson Ltd. in Fayetteville.

“I have always just wanted to please people,” Britt said. “It’s hard to know that if I won an election by 51 percent, I might dwell on the 49 percent I thought didn’t like me. But I want to do what’s in my heart. It’s like the old Arkansas license plates that said, ‘Land of Opportunity.’ I always liked those.

“That license plate inspired me, and that’s the kind of Arkansas I think we ought to be working toward.”